HT Correspondent
JORHAT, Feb 2: The Department of Commerce of Jagannath Barooah University, in collaboration with the Assam Chamber of Commerce, recently organised a two-day international conference on “Innovation, Challenges, and Opportunities in Commerce and Management for Sustainable Growth”, bringing together academicians, industry representatives and policy thinkers.
The conference opened with an inaugural session where Porag Sarmah, Dean, Faculty of Commerce, welcomed the participants.
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The inaugural address was delivered by vice-chancellor Prof Jyoti Prasad Saikia, who highlighted the relevance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing contemporary economic and management challenges.
The chief guest, Anjan Kumar Gogoi, retired Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force and former member of the North Eastern Council, underlined the importance of innovation across all sectors for sustainable national development.
Expressing concern over emerging threats such as cybercrime and drug addiction, he stressed the need for strong internal security and advocated the introduction of internal national security as part of university curricula, observing that sustainability cannot be achieved without addressing anti-social challenges.
Guest of honour PK Mishra, vice-chancellor of The Kaziranga University, called for restructuring academic curricula to include entrepreneurship and skill-based courses to enhance the relevance of higher education.
Rupam Thakur, vice president of the Assam Chamber of Commerce, appreciated the Department of Commerce for creating a platform that encouraged active academic and industry participation.
The inaugural session also featured keynote addresses by Shad Ahmad Khan, Associate Professor at the American University of Phnom Penh, who spoke on “Sustainability Beyond Slogan: Rethinking Business Education for Behavioural Change”, and Prof Santanu Borah of the University of North Alabama, who presented on “Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Growth”.
The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Rajlaxmi Bardoloi, Head of the Department of Commerce.
Over the two days, six technical sessions were conducted under three broad themes: “Digital Transformation, Emerging Business Trends, and Global Trade”; “Entrepreneurship, Innovation, MSMEs and Sustainable Development”; and “Indigenous Knowledge, Rural Economy, Agrobusiness and Inclusive Growth”.
The sessions were chaired by Prof Amalesh Bhowal, Prof S S Sarkar, Dr Debanuj Khound and Dr Farah Hussain, with paper presentations covering areas such as finance, BRICS+, digital markets, AI investment, corporate social responsibility, tourism, human resource trends, green finance and gender budgeting.
A panel discussion on the second day featured Dr Mantu Bhuyan, Abinash Hazarika, Prosenjit Baidya and Rajkumar Borthakur, who discussed Assam’s cultural heritage, the role of technological innovation, sustainable industrial practices, grassroots entrepreneurship and emerging opportunities in commerce.
The valedictory session on January 30 was addressed by Registrar Dr Utpal Jyoti Mahanta, Dean of Student Affairs Subhasish Sarmah and Dean, Faculty of Commerce, Porag Sarmah.
Distinguished speakers Dr Debanuj Khound and Dr Farah Hussain also reflected on the success of the conference, while participants shared their experiences.
Three best papers were selected from each technical session, and certificates were awarded to the presenters. The conference formally concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Ujjal Bhuyan, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Jagannath Barooah University.
